With the cooler weather moving into Texas this season, students are taking advantage of the vibrant local coffee shop scene. If your MBA journey brings you to Austin, we suggest checking out the places below– with a selection of coffee, tea, and even local beer, wine or spirits, these are great places to hang out with your classmates, get work done, or meet new people.

This post was written by Kimberly Jones, Marketing Coordinator, Texas McCombs MBA Programs.

The next class of Texas McCombs MBAs will start their MBA journey in a brand new business graduate school here at UT Austin: Robert B. Rowling Hall! On February 22, 2018 Rowling Hall held its Grand Opening Celebration. We were so excited to welcome the wider business community to our new home:

In the end, it’s a very personal decision about where to submit your application. But remember it’s a two-way street. You decide where you belong, and the admissions committee agrees on the fit. Here is some advice on how to make an informed choice about which MBA program to choose.

Consider Your Level & Years of Work Experience Carefully

Average work experience for the Texas MBA Program:

Program

80% Range

Minimum

Professional MBA

3.25-11 years

2 years

Executive MBA

8-22 years

8 years

While people with the minimum eight years of experience do join the Executive MBA program, there are relatively few. Executive MBA candidates become more competitive within the 9-10 year range of work experience. On the other hand, Professional MBA candidates must have a minimum of two years of full-time work experience, and candidates get competitive with closer to four years. The admissions committee doesn’t simply count the years, but evaluates the quality of your work experience (the impact you’ve made to your organization, advancement in your role or responsibilities, and other factors), and also your level within the organization.

Generally, students in the Executive MBA have managed people, either directly or dotted-line, as well as budgets. Some rose to this level sooner in their careers than others. If you work in a small organization, your responsibilities can elevate very quickly. There are many manager level employees in the Professional MBA programs as well, but also quite a few individual contributors.

Executive MBA candidates on the low end of work experience and unsure of whether or not they would be a fit, should request a resume review. A short chat with a member of the admissions committee can allay any doubts about whether or not your work experience is appropriate and/or competitive.

During the class, you’ll witness the collaborative and team-based environment that’s a big part of the fabric here at McCombs. The questions you should be asking yourself during your visit are: What can I contribute to this conversation? What assets would I bring to my study team?

Start Your App by Our Next Deadline: March 27, 2018

Texas MBAs are collegial, yet competitive. And the program you join will define your close-knit, professional network while in the program and beyond. Attend an event soon, or reach out to us with questions. Strategic thought about where you begin your relationship with the Texas MBA network sets you off on the right foot for your MBA journey and your career goals beyond the program. Ready to apply?

SXSW 2017 is almost here! The Texas MBA program is gearing up for panels, pitches, and parties. Register to join us at one of the many events happening around Austin, and follow the conversation at #WhyMcCombs.

McCombs Entrepreneurship Night

Kick off SXSW 2017 with the Texas MBA and Texas MSTC programs on Saturday, March 11th, where you’ll have the opportunity to network with SXSW attendees, local entrepreneurs, McCombs students, faculty, and alumni!

This event is held at 3Ten ACL Live & is open to the public with RSVP. Priority access will be given to SXSW Badge holders, so be sure to arrive early. Due to capacity restrictions, RSVP does not guarantee entry.

Meet These MBA Startups at E-ship Night!

More McCombs & UT at SXSW

In addition to McCombs Entrepreneurship Night, UT & McCombs are hosting a series of SXSW events. Don’t miss these opportunities for networking, professional development, and fun!

UT Live is two days of panels, parties, and exhibitions led by the brightest minds at The University of Texas at Austin. The event will highlight the research, innovation and thought leadership of UT’s faculty, students and programs.

Discussion of the pros and cons of higher education as it relates to starting your own company. Panel hosted by McCombs, the MBA Entrepreneur Society, and the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship.

MBA startup pitch competition hosted by the McCombs School of Business, the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship and the MBA Entrepreneur Society. Finalists will pitch their startup ideas at the SXSW Startup Village.

I know, you’re pouring over the McCombs website doing your due diligence researching all of the great programs the Texas MBA Program has to offer, and you’ve most likely come across the MBA+ Leadership Program.

Those smiling faces and their Starbucks aprons. “I want to try out my new b-school skills consulting for real live companies!”, you think. I know, because I wrote about it in my application essays, too. It is one of the unique experiential learning programs that drew me to McCombs. Now that I’m a real life McCombs student doing a real live MBA+ project, I’d like to share a report from the front lines.

First, it’s worth saying that I had no idea what to expect. I came to McCombs from the education sector, so I knew very little about business or consulting, except that I wanted to learn the tricks of the trade. Consulting (and all things business, for that matter) seemed like a black box. You put numbers and analysis and strategy meetings in on one end, and out come decisions.

For my MBA+ project, I’m working with Deloitte’s Human Capital practice to research the impact of the “Industrial Internet of Things” on people. How will workplaces change? How will people’s jobs change? How can companies proactively position themselves in the midst of this change? It sounds pretty high-level and vague, but the reality of the project has been more than I imagined: more company face time, more learning, and more fun.

1. Company Face Time

We interface with a team of six Deloitte employees who are company leaders at various levels. Across the board they have bent over backwards to make themselves available and to make this a positive experience for the McCombs team. Senior consultants fresh out of McCombs help to guide and navigate us through the process, and senior partners generously take our calls and emails. Everyone provides thoughtful advice and feedback. Who knows how many potentially billable hours of their time we’ve racked up at this point…

As a “nontraditional” student interested in transitioning to strategy consulting, it’s been an excellent way to hit the ground running right from the beginning. It’s true that making an office visit is a great way to get a feel for what it would be like to work at that company. Doing a MBA+ project is even better, in my opinion. You get a feel for what makes the company tick, you know people at the company, and they know you.

2. Learning

I knew literally nothing about consulting at the start of this project. In the words of one of my fellow MBA+ teammates, “I thought a vertical was how high you could jump.” We’re halfway through our project, and I can say that I now understand what consultants do (kind of) and how to do it (ok, that’s a gross overstatement, but I know more than I did).

I’ve learned from my peers, many of whom are former consultants, and can style the heck out of a PowerPoint deck. And I’ve learned from jumping in. Week one of the project we were meeting with senior consultants who were giving us the rundown on the project trajectory. Week two we were on a call with partners. Week six we were presenting to those same partners.

And from all that work, I now feel like I’m starting to gain two very consultant-y (and generally useful regardless of industry and function) skills: I’m comfortable with ambiguity and I can work with a team to structure an unstructured problem. They’re skills I already had, but the project has helped to refine them, strengthen them, and make me view them in a new light.

3. Fun

On our launch call, an hour into a slew of tips and frameworks and ideas from Deloitte, one of the higher ups closed with this advice:

“You’re getting to do consulting without any of the downsides—don’t forget to have fun! There’s no downside, only an upside.”

I’ve gotten to work with five stellar fellow first years and have gotten to know them and learn from them. We’ve gotten to play consultant and present in a fancy downtown conference room. We got to spend hours reading fascinating research, talking to industry leaders, and coaxing a neat, structured final deliverable out of the mass of available information. It’s basically a playground for a b-school nerd. What more could you want?

Is it hard to focus on the project because there is a ton of other things going on at this point in the semester, most of which involves grades? Yes. Does the project help to ground me in the reasons I came here in the first place, and give me a taste of what I can do on the other side of this place? Heck, yes. So when you get here, just know that your very own MBA+ project awaits!